…PML builds a 640 hp electric Mini?

The PML Mini QED is a high performance hybrid version of BMW’s Mini Cooper. Put together by a British engineering firm, the car features four 160 hp electric motors, one per wheel. These motors are powered by a small gasoline engine, and give the car a combined 640 hp, accelerating to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and giving a top speed of 150 mph. The car can run for four hours on just battery power, and has an all-electric range of 200-250 miles and a total range of about 930 miles. For longer journeys, the gasoline engine is used to recharge the batteries, giving the car 80 mpg in hybrid mode. The Mini doesn’t have brakes. Instead, the motors act as electrical generators, which slow the car down and recharge the batteries. Almost all of the energy used to get up to break neck speeds is recouped bringing the car back down to less than lethal speeds. ABS is built into the system, as each wheel can be independently controlled for anti-skid on both acceleration and braking. There is no differential. Instead, each wheel communicates with the other over 1000 times per second, determining the optimal amount of torque. Pick one of these up, and challenge the guy who just bought a Tesla to a race.